The City of Georgetown is moving forward with developing construction plans for bridge rehabilitation and roadway improvements on the Austin Avenue Bridges over the San Gabriel River. This project is funded through the voter-approved Mobility Georgetown Bond 2021.
The pedestrian bridges will be designed and constructed at a later date when additional funding is identified. The City is evaluating options to maintain pedestrian access during bridge rehabilitation and before the pedestrian bridge is constructed.
Improvements:
Bridge Rehabilitation:
- Clean and repaint various structural elements
- Repair concrete as needed and replace bridge deck
- Maintain existing rail and add crash-tested rail
Roadway Improvements:
- Remove all sidewalk from bridges in preparation for new pedestrian bridge
- Widen existing travel lanes to 11 feet and add shoulders
- Improve drainage
Schedule:
- Fall 2022 to Mid-2023: Develop construction plans, property owner and business coordination
- Late 2023 to Mid-2025: Construction
What to Expect During Construction:
It is important to the City that we are good neighbors to residents, surrounding businesses, and drivers. We recognize construction is impactful and you need to get around town. We will keep you updated on work activities, planned lane closures, and construction progress. More information about construction will be shared before work begins.
- Lane Closures: Austin Avenue will be reduced to one lane in each direction with temporary full bridge closures occurring overnight.
- Noise: Construction can be loud. Expect to see and hear large machinery and heavy equipment.
- Dust: Contractors will be required to use sweeper and water trucks to keep dust at a minimum.
- Temporary Access Changes: As the San Gabriel Village Boulevard intersection at Austin Avenue is improved, you can expect temporary access changes to keep crews and the traveling public safe.
Stay Updated:
Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook and sign up for our weekly newsletter for important City news and events. You can also email AustinAve@georgetown.org with questions.
Project Background:
The historic bridges were constructed in 1940 and have deteriorated with time and increased traffic. From 2016 to 2020, the City, in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation, conducted studies and worked with the community to identify needs and preferred improvements.
Throughout this process the project team met with individual property owners, held five public meetings, including guided tours and visioning workshops, worked with the Texas Historical Commission, and conducted numerous engineering and environmental studies.
View project documents and archives.
Previous Public Involvement:
Thank you to everyone who participated previously and provided valuable feedback during the early stages of project development and public engagement. Below is information on previous study and public involvement activities.
January 2016– Project Kickoff
March 2016– Meetings with property owners
March 31, 2016– Public Meeting 1 to share project overview and collect input
Public Meeting 1
Previous Public Meetings
Thank you to everyone who attended the first three public meetings. All information shared at public meetings is available online. To view materials, summaries, and reports click the links below:
May 11, 2017 Public Meeting – possible alternatives
June 29, 2016 Public Meeting – visioning workshop on themes and options
March 31, 2016 Public Meeting – project overview
Community Meetings and Events
The project team is looking forward to attending community events to share project information. If you are interested in setting up a meeting or presentation, please contact us.
Previous Meetings and Events
- Meetings with property owners and stakeholders – February 22, 24, and 25
- Market Days on the Georgetown Square – March 12
- Downtown Low Down – April 13
- Section 106 Consulting Party Presentation and Walking Tour – August 23
May 2016 – TxDOT signs Advance Funding Agreement to provide environmental review
June 29, 2016 – Public Meeting 2 to hold visioning workshop on themes and options
Public Meeting 2
The City of Georgetown hosted the second public meeting for the Austin Avenue Bridges Project in a workshop format. The purpose of this meeting was to develop a vision for the future of the bridges that balances its needs and the wants of the community. A walking tour of the project was conducted prior to the meeting for interested attendees. At the workshop, the project team provided a brief presentation and then community members participated in a workshop to share input on the project. The team did collect RSVPs for the workshop and walking tour to help prepare for activities.
AABP – Austin Ave Public Meeting Summary 6-29-16_Part1
AABP – Austin Ave Public Meeting Summary 6-29-16_Part2
General Comments: Please send any comments or questions via
Email: AustinAve@georgetown.org
Mail: Georgetown Utility Systems, C/O Nat Waggoner, PO Box 409, Georgetown, TX 78627
Photos and Stories: Do you have any photos or stories of the Austin Avenue Bridges? We would like to catalog these as a part of this project! Send your photos and stories to the team or use these hashtags to submit on social media:
#georgetowntxbridges #austinavebridges #austinavegeorgetown #georgetowntx
August 23, 2016– Informal Meeting with Consulting Parties led by TxDOT
Fall 2016 – Historic Resource Process and Consulting Parties Coordination Begins
May 11, 2017– Public Meeting 3 to share possible alternatives
November 2017– TxDOT begins formal Section 106 Review with Consulting Parties
December 11, 2017– TxDOT holds formal meeting for Consulting Parties
February 27, 2019– Public Meeting 4 for input on bridge railing options
Public Meeting 4
The City of Georgetown held a public meeting at the Georgetown Public Library on Feb. 27, 2019 to get public input on options for bridge railings for the Austin Avenue Bridges. The existing bridge railings will be retained, however, since they do not meet current design standards, new railings that meet current design and impact standards will be added as part of the rehabilitation project. The public meeting was to get public input on design options for the new bridge railings.
Four bridge railing options were setup on display boards for the participants to view. City staff were at the meeting to answer questions. The participants were also provided with a ballot or scoring sheet that listed the four bridge railing options and they were asked to rank the options from 1-4 with one being the best liked option and four being the least liked option. The preferred option selected was Option #3.
Austin Ave Bridges railing options 2-27-2019
The overall option for the bridge project selected is the rehabilitation of the bridges with an added pedestrian and bicycle bridge to the east of the existing bridges.
Austin Ave Bridges option 6A, 2-27-2019
March 20, 2020 – Public Meeting 5 to share updates on proposed improvements and project timeline
Public Meeting 5
The City of Georgetown posted a recorded presentation on May 20, 2020, to present proposed improvements to Austin Avenue from Second to Morrow Streets. This recorded presentation gave the public the opportunity to learn more about the proposed improvements and give input on the Austin Avenue Plans.
The proposed improvements for Austin Avenue include rehabilitating the existing bridges and maintaining the railings, constructing a new 10-foot pedestrian bridge and sidewalk to the east, and a 6-foot sidewalk on the west side of Austin Avenue at the San Gabriel Village Boulevard and Second Street intersections.
Responses to submitted comments are now available in the virtual public meeting report. All materials shared for the virtual meeting are included below.
Meeting Materials
Recorded Presentation
Design Schematic
Rendering
Proposed improvements
Design Examples
Presentation Slides
Documentation of Notice and Opportunity to Comment
Project Contact:
City staff and the project team are always available to visit about the project. Please email with any questions or comments.
Email: AustinAve@georgetown.org
Project Documents and Archives
This page contains past documents and archives from throughout the history of the Austin Avenue Bridges rehabilitation project. For the most recent updates and information, navigate to the Austin Avenue Bridge Rehabilitation homepage.
Project Documents
Previous Updates
The City is sending project updates via email as new information is available on this project. Below is an archive of updates.
- Update – February 19, 2016
- Update – March 4, 2016
- Update – April 4, 2016
- Update – April 20, 2016
- Update – June 3, 2016
- Update – June 23, 2016
- Update – June 28, 2016
- Update – July 8, 2016
- Update – August 1, 2016
- Update – August 26, 2016
- Update – September 20, 2016
- Update – April 13, 2017
- Update – May 4, 2017
- Update – May 12, 2017
- Update – May 25, 2017
- Update – October 25, 2017
Independent Reviews
In May 2016, the City hired the engineering firms AECOM and LAN to provide additional structural and forensic reviews of the Austin Ave bridge effort from 2014 to present. The scope of these reviews was focused on the analysis completed to date and to identify the possible remediation strategies for the load posting on the bridges.
Those additional reviews evaluated the December 2013 TxDOT bridge inspection report and January 2016 “Condition Assessment and Evaluation” documents prepared by WJE and Aguirre & Fields. Both reviews generally agreed with 2013 and 2016 documents, their findings and application of engineering procedures and methods. One review also-re-evaluated the load rating for the bridges. Both additional engineering firms confirmed that repair and rehabilitation options, similar to those in a previous report (Aguirre & Fields, June 2014), could include:
- Strengthening girders
- Replacement of bridge decks and bearings
- Sealing expansion joints
- Substructure concrete repair
Reviews also provided information on a bridge replacement option, with both additional reviews supporting rehabilitation of the structure only if it will result in removal of load postings. Both reports discussed the carbonation progression of concrete deck and acceleration of spalls if enhanced maintenance is not scheduled promptly. In any repair, rehabilitation or replacement option, planning and execution of frequent maintenance operations was recommended.
Areas of difference between the reports primarily focuses on three primary issues:
- LAN recommends load rating can be increased based on the concrete strength if the original mill reports were obtained or used in the calculations. While the other firms believe the deck is notcomposite with the girders, so concrete strength does not play a role in the controlling load rating. Staff and LAN requested the original mill reports from TxDOT. TxDOT was unable to locate anyreports from the original construction of the bridges.
- LAN recommended obtaining steel samples and additional testing to be used in the load calculations. Those tests are being completed through a modification of our existing contract with Aguirre & Fields and results should be obtained by the end of the summer 2016.
- The scope of the reviews did not include the evaluation of life cycle cost nor an analysis of the environmental clearances needed to conduct strengthening, widening or replacement options for the bridges. Part of the scope of the original Aguirre & Fields Task Order is to complete this analysis including life cycle cost analysis of the alternatives identified for the bridges, documentation of environmental clearances necessary in each alternative, documentation of AASHTO compliance necessary concerning the bridge railing in each alternative, and documentation of ADA compliance necessary with each alternative.
